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L.A. Auto Show: Jaguar gets mean and green

November 18, 2010 | 3:09
pm

Things are getting fun on Electric Avenue.

Jaguar’s new supercar concept, the C-X75 makes its North American debut here in L.A. This plug-in halo car joins high-end concept supercars exploring electric propulsion, such as Porsche’s 918 concept and Audi’s e-tron concept. The C-X75 builds on Jaguar’s legacy of high-end supercars in the vein of its XJ220 or XJR-15.

The concept Jag features four lithium-ion batteries that power four electric motors (one for each wheel) putting out 195 horsepower each, for a total of 780 horsepower. The car also has torque vectoring. Because I have neither the PhD nor the Powerpoint presentation needed to explain what torque vectoring is, I’ll reduce it to this: it’s the next step in the evolution of all-wheel-drive whereby more torque is directed to the outside wheel(s) in a turn, which gets the car through the turn faster.

Electric vehicles are always torque monsters, and the C-X75 is no different: It puts out a colossal 1,180 pound-feet of torque. Zero-to-60 time is expected to be 3.4 seconds, and top speed is 205 mph.

Two micro-gas turbines can charge the batteries or provide power directly to the wheel motors for a combined range of 560 miles. However, the C-X75 can run on electric-only power for 68 miles.

Aesthetically, the C-X75 certainly plays the part of a show-stopping supercar. The wide front reminds one of the Ferrari California, while the back is dominated by a massive carbon-fiber rear-diffuser and looks like nothing else on the road.